NU Hosts Rutgers Saturday on ESPN2 at 11 a.m.

GAME 8: NEBRASKA vs. RUTGERS
OCT. 25, 2014 | MEMORIAL STADIUM
LINCOLN, NEB. | 11 a.m. (CT)

BROADCAST INFO
TV - ESPN2
RADIO - Husker Sports Network
SATELLITE RADIO - Sirius Channel 84, XM 84
INTERNET RADIO - Huskers.com

HUSKERS
Record: 6-1, 2-1
Rankings: Coaches-16; AP-16
Last Game: def. Northwestern, 38-17
Coach: Bo Pelini
Career/NU Record: 64-25/7th year 
vs. Rutgers: first meeting

SCARLET KNIGHTS
Record: 5-2, 1-2
Rankings: Coaches-NR; AP-NR
Last Game: lost to Ohio State, 56-17
Coach: Kyle Flood
Career/RU Record: 20-13, 3rd Season
vs. Nebraska: first meeting

The Matchup
Nebraska returns to Lincoln for the first time in four weeks on Saturday, as the Huskers play host to Big Ten newcomer Rutgers at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CDT with the game televised by ESPN2.

The Huskers enter the game with a 6-1 overall reocrd and a 2-1 Big Ten Conference record after a 38-17 victory at Northwestern last Saturday. The Huskers were dominant in the second half, erasing a 17-14 halftime deficit and holding the Wildcats to just 28 yards after intermission. The win made the Huskers bowl eligible, ensuring a postseason berth for the seventh straight season.

The win at Northwestern helped Nebraska move up three spots in both major polls, as the Huskers now check in at No. 16 in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. At 2-1 in Big Ten play, the Huskers are tied for second in the Big Ten West with Iowa, a game behind division leader Minnesota, who sits at 3-0 in conference play.

Rutgers comes to Lincoln with a 5-2 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Big Ten Conference play. The Scarlet Knights dropped a 56-17 decision at Ohio State last Saturday in their Big Ten Conference road opener. Rutgers features a potent passing attack that averages better than 250 yards per game through the air.

Rutgers is making its first ever trip to Memorial Stadium on Saturday, and the game will mark just the second meeting between the two programs.

The Series
Saturday’s meeting between Nebraska and Rutgers will be just the second between the schools. The first matchup was a 28-0 Nebraska win at the New York Polo Grounds in 1920. The 94-year gap between games in the series is the longest for Nebraska against any opponent in school history.

The Coaches
Nebraska: Bo Pelini (Ohio State, ‘90) owns a 64-25 record (.719) in his seventh season as head coach. He has guided NU to nine or more wins in each of his first six seasons as head coach, joining Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne in accomplishing that feat at Nebraska. His 63 wins trail only Osborne and Devaney on the NU wins list. Pelini joins Alabama’s Nick Saban as the only head coaches in the nation to win nine or more games each of the past six seasons.

Rutgers: Kyle Flood (Iona, ‘93) is in his third season as the head coach at Rutgers. He has guided the Scarlet Knights to a 20-13 record, including bowl appearances in each of his first two seasons. Flood previously served as an assistant at Rutgers for seven seasons before taking the head job.

Nebraska Football
Nebraska is 871-358-40 all-time, one of just eight schools with 800 all-time victories 
- Nebraska has won five national championships (1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997).
- The Cornhuskers have won 43 conference championships.
- NU’s 50 all-time bowl appearances rank third nationally.
- Since 1970, NU has 436 wins, 24 more than any other school.
- Nebraska’s 107 football Academic All-Americans lead the nation.
- The Huskers have 110 All-Americans in school history.

Scouting Rutgers
Rutgers brings a 5-2 record into its first-ever trip to Lincoln today. In their inaugural year as a member of the Big Ten Conference, the Scarlet Knights are 1-2 in league play. Rutgers has fared well in close games this season. Four of its five wins have come by 13 or fewer points, including a two-point win over Michigan and a three-point win at Washington State. The Scarlet Knights have also suffered a three-point loss at Penn State.

Rutgers is led offensively by senior quarterback Gary Nova, one of the nation’s most prolific passers. Nova has thrown for 1,793 yards this fall, and is third nationally with an average of 16.3 yards per pass completion. Nova also ranks 12th nationally in passing efficiency. He has thrown for more than 8,000 yards and 64 touchdowns in his career, but Nova has also tossed 47 interceptions, the third-highest total among all active FBS quarterbacks.

Leonte Carroo has been Nova’s top target, catching 34 passes for 648 yards and five touchdowns. Andrew Turzilli has proven to be a deep threat, as he is averaging 41.9 yards per catch on his seven receptions, including touchdown catches of 80 and 93 yards.

In addition to averaging 257.3 passing yards per game, the Scarlet Knights are averaging 157.7 rushing yards per game. Desmon Peoples paces the rushing attack with 409 rushing yards. Rutgers has thrown for 13 touchdowns and rushed for 11 scores this season, while averaging 27.7 points per game.

Defensively, Rutgers boasts one of the nation’s best pass rushes. The Scarlet Knights rank 14th nationally with an average of 3.4 sacks per game. Kemoko Turay is third in the Big Ten with 5.5 sacks. Rutgers is allowing 26.6 points per game this fall. The Scarlet Knights allow an average of 162.0 rushing yards per game and 261.6 passing yards per contest.

Rutgers has also blocked five kicks this season, including three field goals and two punts. Turay owns a nation-leading three blocked kicks by himself.

Series History
Nebraska and Rutgers have met only once previously, a 28-0 Husker victory at the Polo Grounds in New York City on Nov. 2, 1920. The game was played on Election Day, when Warren G. Harding won the presidency.

Nebraska Head Coach Bo Pelini
Bo Pelini is in his seventh season as Nebraska’s head coach and owns a 64-25 record with the Huskers. Pelini has won or shared four divisional titles in his first six seasons as head coach, including the 2012 Big Ten Legends Division crown. He guided NU to three straight Big 12 North Division crowns from 2008 to 2010, becoming the first coach in the history of the Big 12 to win at least a share of a division title in each of his first three years. 

He has guided Nebraska to at least nine wins each of his six seasons, and three 10-win seasons. Pelini is third on the Nebraska career victories list, trailing only Tom Osborne and Bob Devaney. 

Pelini took charge of the Huskers after a highly successful five-year run as a collegiate defensive coordinator, including orchestrating NU’s defensive efforts in 2003. Pelini picked up his first college head coaching victory as NU’s interim coach in the 2003 Alamo Bowl against Michigan State.

Following his one season at Nebraska, Pelini served as the co-defensive coordinator at Oklahoma in 2004, helping the Sooners to the Big 12 title and BCS title game. He then followed with three seasons as the defensive coordinator at LSU. With the Tigers, Pelini led three consecutive defenses to No. 3 national rankings in total defense. He culminated his time in Baton Rouge by helping the Tigers to the 2007 national championship.

In addition to his five seasons as an assistant at the collegiate level, Pelini coached in the NFL for nine seasons, serving three years each with the San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers. Pelini was a team captain and four-year letterman as a safety at Ohio State from 1987 to 1990.

Rutgers Head Coach Kyle Flood
Kyle Flood is in his third season at Rutgers, where he has led the Scarlet Knights to a 20-13 record. The only coach in school history to lead Rutgers to a bowl game in each of his first two seasons on the sideline, Flood has the Scarlet Knights poised for a third consecutive bowl appearance this season.

Flood took Rutgers to the Pinstripe Bowl last season, where the Scarlet Knights lost to 20th-ranked Notre Dame to finish with a 6-7 record. Flood opened his tenure at Rutgers with seven straight wins while leading Rutgers to a 9-4 record in his first season in 2012, when he was named the Big East Coach of the Year.

Flood served as a Rutgers assistant for seven seasons before being promoted to head coach. Previously, he coached the offensive lines at Delaware (2002-05) and Hofstra (1997-2001). His first collegiate coaching job was as the offensive line coach at Long Island - C.W. Post in 1995 and 1996. Flood began his coaching career in the prep ranks, spending two seasons at St. Francis Preparatory High School.

Huskers Bidding for Seventh Straight Nine-Win Season
Nebraska posted a 9-4 record in 2013, capped by a victory over Georgia in the Gator Bowl. The nine-win season in 2013 was Nebraska’s sixth straight under Head Coach Bo Pelini’s leadership and put Nebraska in elite company. 

» Nebraska is one of three schools that has won at least nine games each of the past six seasons, joining Alabama and Oregon.

» Pelini has guided Nebraska to 10-win seasons in three of his six seasons.

» The six straight years with at least nine wins marks the first time NU has accomplished that since its NCAA record streak of 33 straight nine-win seasons from 1969 to 2001.

» Nebraska has 48 nine-win seasons in school history, including 40 since 1969. The Huskers’ 27 all-time 10-win seasons are third-most in college football history.

Huskers Celebrating 125th Season of Football
The 2014 season marks the 125th year of intercollegiate football at Nebraska. Since the school’s first football season in 1890, Nebraska has earned its place as one of the traditional national powers in college football.

The Huskers have won five national championships, 43 conference championships and last year became just the third school to appear in 50 bowl games. Since 1962 alone, Nebraska has produced nine or more wins in 46 of 52 seasons.

Nebraska will be celebrating its 125th season throughout 2014.

NU Rushing Attack Once Again Among Nation’s Best
Nebraska boasts one of the nation’s top rushing attacks, averaging 293.6 yards per game to rank second in the Big Ten and sixth nationally. The Huskers have rushed for better than 300 yards three times this season, including two games of more than 400 yards.

The running game was held in check at Michigan State, as the Huskers rushed for 47 yards on 37 attempts. Nebraska got back on track at Northwestern with 234 rushing yards, showing the power it had exhibited during a 5-0 start.

Nebraska pounded Illinois on the ground, rushing 70 times for 458 yards including a pair of 100-yard rushers. A week earlier, the Huskers dominated the Miami contest with a punishing ground game, rolling up 343 rushing yards on 54 attempts. The Huskers opened the season with an overpowering rushing effort against Florida Atlantic, rolling up 498 yards on the ground, and averaging 8.7 yards per carry. The rushing output was Nebraska’s best under Bo Pelini and the Huskers’ best since rushing for 641 yards at Baylor in 2001.

- Nebraska’s rushing output in the first seven games of the season is the Huskers’ best through seven games since 2001. The Huskers averaged 339.3 rushing yards per game through seven contests in 2000.

- Ameer Abdullah rushed for 208 yards on 22 carries against Illinois with three rushing touchdowns. Fellow I-back Imani Cross had a career-high 109 yards on 22 carries. The game marked the 77th time in school history Nebraska has had two or more 100-yard rushers, and the second time in 2014. Abdullah (232) and Terrell Newby (107) accomplished the feat against Florida Atlantic in the season opener. Nebraska was just shy of the mark against Miami with Abdullah rolling up 229 rushing yards, while quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. added 96 rushing yards.

- The 300+ rushing efforts against FAU, Miami and Illinois give Nebraska 18 games under Bo Pelini in which Nebraska has rushed for at least 300 yards. The Huskers are a perfect 18-0 in those games.

- Nebraska has reached at least 200 rushing yards in 22 games since the start of the 2012 season, including five times in 2013 and five of seven games in 2014. Nebraska is 10-0 since the start of the 2013 season when rushing for 200 or more yards.

- In 2013, Nebraska finished third in the Big Ten and 19th nationally in rushing, averaging 215.7 yards per game. The 2013 rushing success continued Nebraska’s recent surge on the ground. Nebraska has averaged better than 200 rushing yards per game for four straight seasons, and has ranked in the top 20 nationally each year from 2010 to 2013. NU led the Big Ten in rushing in 2012, and topped the Big 12 in rushing offense in 2010.

- NU’s 458 rushing yards against Illinois were its most in four years in Big Ten Conference play, and its most against a conference foe since rushing for 641 yards at Baylor in 2001.

- Ameer Abdullah has surpassed 1,000 yards for the third straight season with 1,024 yards, giving Nebraska a 1,000-yard rusher for each of the past six seasons. That is the longest stretch for NU since the Huskers had at least one 1,000-yard rusher for seven straight seasons from 1979 to 1985.

Abdullah Reaching the End Zone At Record-Setting Pace
Abdullah found his way into the end zone four times against Northwestern, pacing the Huskers to a 38-17 victory. Abdullah’s four rushing touchdowns were a career high and marked the first time a Nebraska player rushed for four touchdowns since Taylor Martinez rushed for four touchdowns at Kansas State in 2010.

Abdullah has 14 rushing touchdowns this season, including four consecutive games with multiple rushing touchdowns. He has added two receiving touchdowns, giving him 16 total touchdowns on the year. Abdullah’s average of 13.7 points per game is tied for second nationally, trailing only Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon.

The touchdown barrage has allowed Abdullah to surge up the NU career touchdown lists, while putting him in position to challenge some lofty marks on the single-season lists.

- Abdullah has scored 42 total touchdowns during his Nebraska career to rank in a tie for fifth in school history. Abdullah has reached the end zone four different ways. He has 34 career rushing touchdowns, including 14 in 2014, six receiving touchdowns, as well as a punt return touchdown and a touchdown on a kickoff return.

- Abdullah’s 34 career rushing touchdowns are sixth in school history, trailing Tommie Frazier by two rushing touchdowns to reach the top five on the career rushing TD list.

- Abdullah’s 16 total touchdowns this season are just one shy of the top 10 on the season touchdowns list. Mike Rozier scored a school-record 29 touchdowns in 1983, while 22 touchdowns ranks second on the single-season list.

5,000/3,000/2,000
Seniors Ameer Abdullah and Kenny Bell have been linked throughout their Nebraska careers as leaders and playmakers for the Husker offense. Fittingly, the duo hit some significant milestones on the same afternoon in the season opener against Florida Atlantic.

- Abdullah cracked the 5,000-yard mark in career all-purpose yardage with a 241-yard effort. He has continued to pile up all-purpose yards throughout the season and now has 6,263 career all-purpose yards to pass 1972 Heisman winner Johnny Rodgers (5,586) and move to the top of the NU career chart.

- Abdullah’s 232 yards rushing against Florida Atlantic were a career high. The total also pushed him past 3,000 career rushing yards, joining seven other Huskers. Abdullah has now surpassed 4,000 career rushing yards, following his fifth 100-yard game of the season at Northwestern. Abdullah’s 4,001 career yards are second in school history and leave him 779 yards shy of Mike Rozier’s school record of 4,780 career rushing yards.

- Bell recorded his fourth career 100-yard receiving game with four catches for 116 yards vs. FAU, including a 63-yard reception. He added his fifth 100-yard game with five catches for 105 yards against Illinois, including a 63-yard TD reception. Bell has increased his career total to 2,410 receiving yards, becoming the third Husker to reach 2,000 career receiving yards, joining Johnny Rodgers (2,479) and Nate Swift (2,476).

Blackshirts Set for Strong Second Half of Season
The Nebraska defense was solid through the first half of the 2014 season, helping Nebraska to a 5-1 record. The Huskers began the second half of the year with a dominant second-half effort at Northwestern, keying NU’s 38-17 victory. After halftime, Northwestern managed just 28 total yards and three first downs.

Through seven games, the Huskers are allowing an average of 338.6 yards per game to rank sixth in the Big Ten and 28th nationally.

- The Blackshirts have excelled against the pass, allowing opponents to complete just 48.3 percent of their passes, the best mark in the Big Ten and third in the country. Nebraska ranks first in the Big Ten and eighth nationally in pass efficiency defense.

- Nebraska will look to build off the effort at Northwestern for a strong performance in the second half of the season. A year ago, the Blackshirts made huge strides in the second half of the season, ranking among the Big Ten’s top defenses in conference play. In fact, over the past 16 games, Nebraska has held the opposition to less than 350 yards of total offense nine times, including five games of less than 300 yards, most recently 290 yards by Northwestern.

- Opponents have completed less than 50 percent of their passes since the start of Big Ten Conference play last season.

- Nebraska is once again one of the nation’s stingiest third-down defenses. Opponents have converted just 27.9 percent (31-111) of their third-down attempts against the NU defense, a rate that ranks second in the Big Ten and sixth nationally.

Click on the "Game Notes" link in the related links section at the top of this page for more notes on this weekend's game.